Page 33 of The Love Thief
CHAPTER TWENTY - THREE More Bad News
Email from Auntie Geeta (Mom was cc’d):
My darling Holly ,
Your mom has been keeping me up to date with your adventures in Rishikesh. I am happy to hear that you are enjoying Divya’s cooking classes and making some new friends. I look forward to sampling your creative play on Khichri when you return home.
Now, regarding your $100,000 investment in Barry’s home: I wish I had better news to share, but unfortunately, I discovered that he never added you to the deed as he said he would.
No surprise there. It turns out that the house is owned by his parents’ trust. So, technically he never had the right to add you.
He did send me a copy of the agreement you signed, and there is a clause in it that states that if you are the one to leave the relationship, you forfeit your investment.
It also states that if you decide to sue him and lose, you are responsible for his legal fees and trial costs.
Given that his career (and main source of income) appears to be filing nuisance suits, surprisingly quite successfully, most of his victims opt to settle and get away from him rather than risk a lengthy and expensive court battle.
While we might be able to sue and potentially win, if he does prevail, it could cost you all of his legal fees, which could be substantial (and of course I would never charge you for my time).
From what I have learned about him, he has plenty of time to keep these fights going for years and years. And, even when he has lost a lawsuit, no one has ever been able to collect from him.
Your mom thought one way for you to recoup your money would be to sell your engagement ring. She took it in for appraisal, and it turned out to be a fake diamond. It’s called a Moissanite, one of the best faux diamonds made, and at 5 carats, it is worth around $4,000.
Sorry to be the bearer of so much bad news, but under California law, if you call off the wedding, you legally have to return the ring. With your okay, I will arrange to have the ring returned to that monster.
If you want to discuss any of this, let me know when you are free to talk. Holly, please try not to let all of this keep you down. You’ve been through so much, I promise you, the worst is really over.
As the brilliant, wise woman Maya Angelou said, “My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.”
Love and miss you, Auntie Geeta
P.S.: I know how much your current situation sucks. Please remember that the beautiful lotus flower blooms from mud.
I shook my head in utter disbelief. The disaster known as Barry Tavers was less like mud and more like an endless pit of quicksand. I wondered if I would ever get free.
Suddenly I was haunted by the words that Barry had spoken to me with such confidence on our first date: Holly , he had said, I am a master strategist and I always win.
My whole body shuddered at the memory. I closed my laptop, walked back to bed, and pulled the covers up tight.